On my radar ...

• Jeremy Hunt's plan to introduce tough Ofsted-style performance ratings for NHS hospitals has suffered a setback. In a detailed report published today, the Nuffield Trust thinktank says hospitals are too complex for their performance to be adequately conveyed through a single score. Denis Campbell reports on the story for the Guardian. Dr Jennifer Dixon, the Nuffield Trust's chief executive, blogs:

So what might ratings add today? There are two obvious gaps. First, there is currently no independent comprehensive assessment of quality across all providers and across the full spectrum of performance. Second, there is nothing from a single trusted source that is simple for the public to use.

It has suggested that if the government wants to go down this route it should consider rating hospitals by department. But that does not mean Ofsted-style ratings will not happen. The Department of Health has already indicated it wants to press ahead with some kind of change. Why? The clearest conclusion of the Nuffield Trust was that despite the difficulties, the status quo was not satisfactory either.